Chennai, Aug 29 (IANS): U Mumba TT will look to strengthen their playoff hopes against eighth-placed Chennai Lions when the teams meet for their Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 tie at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Friday.
Friday’s action will see the return of double-headers, with Dabang Delhi TTC’s bout against Puneri Paltan Table Tennis following up the earlier clash.
Despite winning one of their three ties, U Mumba TT sit third in the table, courtesy of their individual game wins. The team from Mumbai has accumulated 21 points, winning seven matches of their 15 so far. Chennai Lions, on the other hand, are eighth with 12 points, having played a game fewer. Meanwhile, both Dabang Delhi and Puneri Paltan are on the peripheries of the playoff spots, having won a match each.
The battle between U Mumba TT and Chennai Lions has plenty of potential mouth-watering clashes on offer, not least a likely bout between Manav Thakkar, one of Indian table tennis’ rising stars, and Achanta Sharath Kamal, a sporting great.
Later on, Dabang Delhi’s tie against Puneri Paltan will see the return of Sathiyan Gnanasekaran to the table in a potential match-up against teenage sensation Ankur Bhattacharjee. The clash could also see Puneri Paltan’s giant slayer Ayhika Mukherjee square up against Dabang Delhi’s Orawan Paranang, who recently became the only player to defeat Yangzi Liu in UTT history.
The tie between U Mumba TT and Chennai Lions will occur at 17:00. Meanwhile, Dabang Delhi's clash with Puneri Paltan will commence after 19:30.
Squads
Chennai Lions vs U Mumba TT
Chennai Lions: Achanta Sharath Kamal, Sakura Mori (Japan), Jules Rolland (France), Poymantee Baisya, Mouma Das, Abhinandh PB
U Mumba TT: Manav Thakkar, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Aruna Quadri (Nigeria), Akash Pal, Kavyasree Baskar, Maria Xiao (Spain)
Dabang Delhi TTC vs Puneri Paltan Table Tennis
Dabang Delhi TTC: Sathiyan G, Orawan Paranang (Thailand), Diya Chitale, Andreas Levenko (Austria), Yashansh Malik, Lakshita Narang
Puneri Paltan Table Tennis: Ayhika Mukherjee, Natalia Bajor (Poland), Joao Monteiro (Portugal), Ankur Bhattacharjee, Anirban Ghosh, Yashini Sivashankar